The Boar, a Boy, and a Quest
by HakuKumo
Summary: [Yukiru fairytale] It's finally the ending, care to join the celebration...? :D Thx to minna that has put up wif dis story!
1. So the story unfolds

HK's notes: This is my first time writing a fic... so, please bear with me in some cases. I've tried my very best. So, I hope you have fun reading as I have fun thinking up this story... o_O It may seem odd at times... So, yea =P  
This is obviously, an AU story, and there may be OOCness for some characters but I try not to do that...  
Ok, on with the story~  
_Special thx to my many muses: Syao chan for inspiring me to start writing Furuba ficcies^^ Thx to Ksya chan for getting me to start writing to begin with, za chan~ lito chan~ momiji chan~ and all those other wonderful people I've met^^ Thx bunches, hope you like this story^^_

  
  


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**The Boar, a Boy, and a Quest**

  
  


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Once there was a kingdom. This kingdom was ruled by a king, and a queen. They have a lovely princess as a daughter. But this daughter, unlike any other princesses, was adopted. The king and queen of this kingdom cannot bear a child together since, they're of the same sex. King Uotani and Queen Hanajima (King Uo and Queen Hana for short) is also not married to each other, rather, they were just appointed for the job since no one was suitable at the time when the original king and queen were still alive. Therefore, this peculiar kingdom came to have 3 females ruling over it. Why did King Uo became the king, you ask? Well, I think we should let her answer that question since she is an expert at that now. 

"Why can't I? You think you can do better than me?" *evil glare* [takes out a steel pipe from behind her back...] 

...Ummm... I think we should leave that matter for now... 

"What?!" 

"Do you want me to set out my 'denpa' on Kumo, King Uo?" 

Yes, yes, 'King Uo' and 'Queen Hana'! Both of you are the king and queen of this kingdom and no one can deny that fact. So anyways, on with the story. Under the reign of King Uo and Queen Hana, the kingdom lives peacefully... then one faithful day... 

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

A man is seen running from the forest with his clothes in tatters trailing after him. This alarmed all the farmers and workers that are working on the fields out in the open and one of them stops this tattered man. 

"What's wrong? Are you alright? Who did this to you?" 

The man nearly buckled his knees and sputters to the farmer. 

"b..b-b-bbb----boar...BOAR!!!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

The man yanks himself from the farmer and runs off in the distance. 

"That's wierd! Why is he so afraid of a boar? We don't have any boars around here." 

"It's them strange orange heads! They're always yellin' 'bout one thing or another." 

  
  


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A couple of days later, another man was seen running from the forest screaming again. His condition was a bit more severe since he bore scratches and bruises here and there on the skin where his tattered clothes revealed. 

"BBBOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

Before anyone could catch this man, he too, ran off into the distance and never looked back. 

Why are these two men so afraid of a mere boar? Is it because of its terrible tusks? Is it its brute strength? Or is it really true that orange heads are truly wierd? No one knows. So now everyone is being riddled with curiosity. They must know what is happening! 

Still a couple of days later, a third man with the same situation showed up. This time, the farmers got smart. All of them caught the running, panicking man and dragged him off to see the king. 

King Uo, being the mighty king that she is, was quite busy with her kingdomly affairs at the moment. But, after hearing what the farmers described, she got interested in the matter and sent a servant to fetch them in. 

"Now, tell me, what is the matter that troubles my people?" 

"Your majesty, these past days, we have noticed already 3 men that ran screaming from the forest in nothing but rags and scratches and bruises. They all screamed 'boar' and seem mad out of their wits. All of the farmers in the fields are greatly troubled. Please, your majesty, help us with this problem!" 

"Very well. You there! Tell us what happened to you in the forest of which you ran out of! Or else..." *glint of a metal shining behind her back* "Or else, you will have it..." 

"'T---t-t-t-t-twas a wild boar, me lord! I was only in the forest wood chopping so's I can sell them for a living. You see, me lord, I'm a woodsman. Then all of a sudden 'tis great big boar lunges at me and threw me around like me was a rag doll. It was horrible. I shall never forget the evil glint in its eyes..." *shudder* "'Twas horrible.... horrible..." 

"Come now, man! Stop blubbering like a baby! It's only a stupid boar, there's nothing to be afraid about! ...Very well, if this boar vexes you all so, I shall send soldiers in to have it trussed up!" 

  
  


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And so, soldiers were sent into the forest to slay the boar or so the king and her people thought. Days passed, but still no sign of the troop. 

"What happened to the troop of soldiers we sent in to slay the boar, King Uo? They should have been back by now! It is not a difficult task." 

"Yes, Queen Hana. This is indeed strange." 

"Your majesty! The troop! They have come back!" 

"Bring them before me at once!" 

... 

"My men, what have you to report to me? What was your delay?" 

"Your majesty. Our captain is lost and so is one of our soldiers. We've looked for them but still they remain hidden..." 

"And the boar? What of the boar?" 

"We have not seen the boar of which you speak, your majesty! Of all the days we've spent in the forest, no boar was sighted." 

"That is indeed strange... You all shall now go and have rest, you deserve it." 

"But, your majesty, what of our captain?" 

"I'm sure he will show up eventually as like all of you have. Now go and leave me in peace." 

... 

The King watches the wave of brown-haired soldiers leave and turns to the Queen. 

"Queen Hana, what do you sense of this situation?" 

"This is truly strange. No boar was sighted even when 3 men became furiously mad after their sighting. And now, we have lost two of our good men! Of one which was a captain? This is indeed strange!" 

"What shall we do, Queen Hana?" 

"For now, we shall wait..." 

  
  


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For days that followed this event, no men was seen running from the forest again. But again, on a calm day the same thing happened once more! An orange hair man ran from the forest and claims he has been attacked by a boar. Now the King was furious, since she did not want to send in anymore of her troops if only what she ended up with was losing them. So, she and the Queen thought up a plan... 

"Are you sure this is a good idea, King Uo? It might backfire..." 

"It will indeed work, Queen Hana! It is my most brilliant plan yet, of course it will work! We not need to worry about marrying the princess off, since, when the time comes. We will surely deny it. And who would deny me?" [reveals her steel pipe] 

"If you say so..." 

  
  


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And so, the plan was set to action, and the notice was posted in villages for all to see. Of course, if any able men saw it and taken interest, they would have played along. But since, at this time of the season everyone is quite busy with whatever they had to do, the notice went, natually, unnoticed. Until, one fateful young man with lavender eyes happened upon the sheet of paper... 

"...and if whom shall perform the task of ridding this dreadful boar from my kingdom, I hereby proclaim giving my daughter, Princess Tohru's hand in marriage to whom succeeds the task. 

...Princess Tohru..." 

  
  
To be cont... 


	2. Of Peculiarity

**HK's notes:** Oh~~ thankies to all that review^^ And to Sleeping Tiger especially for being my first reviewer^^ Glad you liked my little twists ;P Yes, as you have noticed, this fic was inspired after I started reading that thick book of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Very clever of you to have noticed~ kekeke~  
Here's a little sth: guess which one I based it on. There is one story from Grimm's that I chose to use as my fic's backbone but I didn't like the ending and so, changed it^^ Kekekeke~ The joys of being the writer^^ If anyone guesses the right story, I shall put the first one that answers correctly as a character in my ficcie as best as possible and give you a cookie too!^^  
Hope you people like this chap too... It's quite long, I think... took me 2 days to write it out o_O Anyways, I hope to finish this story and not get discouraged during it... So, plzzzz R&R!!! XP  
...and sorry for the inconviences of my poor writing... *sob* ish just not a good enough writer > _thankies to my many muses once again^^ u people know who you are =D_

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Part.2 **Of Peculiarity** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_As I, the narrator, have said before, this story takes place in a peculiar kingdom. Where peculiar kingdoms are, peculiar things happen. Where peculiar things happen, there must be peculiar people doing peculiar businesses in order for these peculiar things to happen. _

And as such, there are a lot of peculiar people living in this peculiar kingdom. Whether they be red haired, orange haired, blonde haired, white haired, black haired, brown haired, gray haired, even silver haired. They are all part of this kingdom. Nope, I don't think there's green, blue, or pink haired fellows in this kingdom. You must be thinking about the wrong country, old chap. Anywho, these people do all sorts of peculiar things. Peculiarity happens regularly in this kingdom since it is ruled by 3 females: King Uo, Queen Hana, and of course, our lovely Princess Tohru. Why did I mention all of that, you ask? Well you see, I, the narrator, is a part of this kingdom as well. XD 

  
  


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Inside the palace. 

"I wish to nominate myself to go on the quest of ridding the kingdom of the wild boar, your Majesty." 

"And who might you be?" 

"I am but a humble man that lives under your reign, your Majesty. I volunteer for this quest because I, too, also care for this kingdom. And, if slaying this boar shall bring peace to this land, I will be happy to oblige." 

"...You talk too much... But, very well. If you choose to be a participant on this quest, so you shall be. What is your name, young man?" 

"My name, your Majesty, is Sohma Akito." 

  
  


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After a hard day's of work, the young man with lavender eyes slowly makes his way home. 

"Tadaima." 

"Yuki, my dear brother, you're back!" Comes the cry of a 23 yr old man, turning chibi-like at the sight of the arrival of his brother. 

"Yes, yes, I'm back..." 

" *ahem* " 

"...*cringe*... **dear** brother, Ayame." 

"Well now, that wasn't so bad was it, dear brother Yuki!" said Ayame. "You promised that you'll be nice to me for today since it's my birthday! And you won't go breaking your promise now, would you?" 

"No, I won't, **dear** brother." 

"Very well, I shall make you dinner today since I'm in such a good mood! Just sit and wait a minute. It won't take long at all..." 

"Wait a second, **you're** making dinner??? Where's Mine? She's the one that takes care of our meals. Where is she???" 

"Oh~ I've let her off for the day since I feel so happy today. She deserves a rest once in a while too, Yuki." 

[Yuki sweatdrops]  
"Ummm... aniki, since it's your birthday today, why don't we **go out** and eat instead of having you cook. You know, as a celebration sort of thing, plus you don't have to work!"  
_' I'd rather die than to eat his cooking! His cooking is as worse as mine! " ' _

"Why, Yuki, that is a splendid idea! Whyever did I not think of that? Ok, then, let's go out and eat!" Said the man as he drags the other behind him out the door into the cool air of the evening. 

  
  


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As the two brothers made their way towards a table in the Great Hall of Feast in the village, they caught voices murmuring around them... 

"D'you hear? I 'eard 'ere's a proclaimation made by the King, saying that he who rids the boar in the forest shall be made groom of the Princess!" 

"So? What's that got to do with me? I've better things to do than go around running in a forest looking for a boar that no skilled soldier can find except lunatics squeeling about it." 

"Eh, I've also 'eard someone's volunteered to go 'ake on the boar in the forest already!" 

"Then let the fool go. He will have the luck like the soldiers did when they roamed around in that same forest looking for the stupid boar." 

" 'At is true. No other woodsmen said the boar 'cept them wierd orange heads." 

"Are you finished your meal? I've still work to do, shall we go?" 

"Yeh, I've me work to do also. Let's go." 

But, before the 2 men beside the table where Yuki and Ayame is sitting gets up. Yuki stops them and asks the men: 

"Excuse me, kind sir, but do you know the one that volunteered for the quest?" 

"Ah, Yuki, are you also interested? You young ones are always having time on your hands. Very well, I shall tell you, 'tis the young lad in this village also, by the name of Sohma Akito." 

"...Akito~? Why?" 

"Well, we best be off laddie. Can't spend more time chitchatting like some pregnant women now can we? We've them work to do." 

"Oh, I beg your pardon. Please, do go right ahead," said Yuki as he bows slightly at the two men courteously. 

The two men returns the gesture by tipping their caps a bit and sets out the door. Yuki sits back down and joins Ayame in their dinner with his eyebrows slightly furrowing. 

"What's the matter Yuki? Is the business of Akito helping out the kingdom worrying you?" 

"Uhhhh... no. Why would it?" 

"I dunno... just intuition..." 

"Intuition? Don't sound like a girl, aniki." 

"A girl... hmmmm... that could be another reason. Since, you're not worrying about a guy, then you must be worrying about a girl!" 

"What kind of logic is that???" 

[a wicked smile slowly stretches across Ayame's lovely face]  
"I think I'll go see my dear friend Shigure tonight." 

"Aniki, Shigure's gone missing for months already." 

[O_O ... brows furrowing]  
"Oh yea~~ I forgot." 

  
  


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A light breeze gently blows across the lush green grass that someone's using as a soft green bed. His dark gray hair waves at the soft sunbeams that shine on him. His eyes closed, shielding lavender tinted eyes. 

_' Why did Akito volunteer? And so willingly too? It just doesn't make sense... There's something wrong with this whole thing, I just know it! But... I can't pin-point the exact problem... This is wierd! ... ... I remember the notice saying something about that "he who rids the boar will be able to marry the Princess" ... marry the Princess ... marry... the Princess... could it be? ... '_

"Yu~~~~~~~ki~~~~~~~~" 

Yuki sits up from where he's resting on the green grass, stretches, and looks to see his brother coming up the little hill, calling him. 

"Aniki? What is it?" 

"They're having a hearing at the palace for the recognition of Akito's bravery for volunteering the quest. You want to go and watch?" 

The young man ponders for a second, gets up, brushes some stray grass from his trousers and sets off with his brother towards the palace. 

  
  


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The palace was filled with people already when the two brothers reached it. They fought their way towards the front of the excited crowd to get a better view of the whole hearing. When Yuki reached the front, he saw Akito already standing in the court with a man standing beside him. This man, as Yuki saw closely, was Sohma Hatori. Both the King and Queen have already seated in their respective thrones. The King as usual, had her left hand on the arm of her throne, supporting her head, looking as complacent as always. The Queen, looking very clairvoyant as usual. The Princess was no where to be found. 

" ...and so, to express our Majesty's gratitude, you are to be awarded with this medal beforehand for your bravery in volunteering for this quest." Proclaims the announcer. 

_' Beforehand? The peculiarity of our kingdom strikes again! '_ Thought Yuki glumly. 

"Thank you, your Majesty." 

"Sohma Akito, your quest shall begin tomorrow morning at the break of dawn. I will send one of my soldiers to lead you to a safe entrance into the forest. You may bring anyone or anything you wish that you think might be of help to you. Shall you need any assistance in any form, make your request now." Said King Uo unanimately. 

"No your Majesty, I have no request. But, the reward for my finishing of the quest still holds true, isn't it, my Lord?" 

"Yes, that is correct." 

"Thank you, that is all I wish to ask." 

"Very well, all is settled. Tomorrow you shall begin your quest." As the King finish saying these words, Ayame suddenly bursts out of the crowd. 

" 'Tori!!! Why are you out there? I've been looking everywhere for you!" 

Everyone in the court turns their heads and stares at Ayame. Since, bursting out loud was not something you should do in front of royalties, especially not when they are speaking. 

"You there! Who, are, you?" The King asks Ayame as veins at her temple throbs dangerously. 

"Good day, your Majesty! I am a common village tailor, by the name of Sohma Ayame. Everyone calls me Aya san though!^^" says 'Aya san' cheerfully. 

_' Great! Just go and do what you're best at, aniki, make a fool out of yourself. I'll just stay right here and pretend I'm one of the other commoners and I don't know you, **at all**._

"... and this is my dear beloved little brother, Sohma Yuki!^^" 

* O_O * 

The King narrows her eyes towards the two as the other people separates from them. 

[ o_O ] "Sohma Ayame, Sohma Yuki, Sohma Akito... Is there a reason why you all have the same last name?(1)" 

"Because we're cousins, your Majesty," exclaims Ayame energetically, "and 'Tori is also our cousin as well!" 

"I see. But your being cousins gives you no right to speak in my presence now, does it? Therefore, I shall sentence you both to death! Guards!" 

"What~~?! Why must we be sentenced to death??? My brother has only spoken a few words, and I none! That is injustice!" 

"You dare question me?!" 

"... King Uo, I have a better idea." 

"Queen Hana, what do you propose we do to them then?" 

"Send them on the quest as well. Isn't it better to have more people working for us? It'd be a waste of time to just and kill them when the boar will do that job for us." 

"What if they escape?" 

"Then, we shall keep one of them here while the other goes on the quest. Is that acceptable?" 

"That is a splendid idea, Queen Hana. Your brilliance strikes once again! Very well, one of you will stay behind as a prisoner while the other will take part on the quest. When you finish the quest, the one we kept as prisoner will be free to go. But, if you shall fail, both of you will die. Choose wisely for who will go on the quest, for it shall determine the destiny for 2 lives." 

"Yuki dear, I will go since I'm the oldest! I have more experience than you do! So, I should go!" 

"Experience? When did you ever have experience in hunting and killing something? All you ever do is stay inside and sew!" 

"Have you decided?" retorts the King. 

"Yes, I wil..." 

Ayame's voice is suddenly cut off as Yuki clasps his hands over his brother's mouth. 

"I will go." 

  
  
To be cont... 

  
  
**HK's little glossary of random jap words:**  
aniki = (slang for) older brother 

**HK's little Ed note:**  
(1) In japanese and chinese, or even most asian cultures, the last name is put first. Once I realized what I've done, it was too late and since I'm just too lazy to go and change all of them back to standard English, you'll see the last name put first from now on =P 


	3. Strawberries, Cookies, and a Lost Cow

**HK's notes:** I finished this chapter in one day. Nothing really happens in this chap tho, coz it's just a chap that explains some things. I hope it's not too confusing! Happy reading^^  
Thank you once again, Sleeping Tiger!^^ Thank you thank you thank you for reading my fic!^^ Yes, you're right! It's "The Singing Bone"! Smartness!^^ Dun worry, you shall have a place in my fic, your cookie will soon come as well!^^ Thank you to Lito chan and to other reviews... if there are anymore new ones... I haven't check O_O  
P.S. Mah dear Haru comes out in this chap^^ kekeke XD  
Don't forget to review! thxthx^^ It's what keeps me going! *nods head furiously* I hope others will like my fic... even though not a lot of people are willing to read... sigh... 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Part.3 **Strawberries, Cookies, and a Lost Cow** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_ It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining its glistening rays over the grassy hills. The birds were chirping their little tunes to each other as if to comment one another on how lovely the day was. A little boy slowly makes his way up a tall hill towards a little sanctuary where he had found the day before by a cliff. He was only 10 years old. The place where he claims his sanctuary is only a piece of unused land where he works on it for his own leisure. He plants all sorts of vegetables but he especially likes planting strawberries and leeks. They were his favourite planting choice. It wasn't that he likes to eat them but rather, he just liked planting them. His little garden overlooks a cliff at the side of the tall hill. It wasn't the type of cliff that falls into deep gourges but it is one of those that if you fall into it, you'll still get hurt type. When the boy finally reaches his garden he saw a strange sight: a little girl in a very pretty dress leaning dangerously over the side of the cliff. _

" What are you doing over there? It's dangerous, come back over here! " 

" I-I can't, my-my foot, it's stuck! " 

" Hold on, don't move. I'll come and get you! " 

The little boy quickly makes his way over to where the panicking little girl is and surveys what situation the little girl has gotten herself into. She had more than half of her upper part of her body hanging over the side of the clift, leaning dangerously down. The rest of her lower body was sprawled out on the grass. Her left foot was caught in a hook made by the root surfaced from the ground of a nearby tree. He got down on his knees and using his work knife, he worked quickly to free the little girl's left foot from the root before she loses balance and slides off the side of the cliff. Suddenly, the sound of crumbling dirt alarmed him and he worked even more furiously to try to free the girl's foot. 

' Only a little bit more... just a little bit more... ' he thought as he worked even more harder to dig his knife into the root, but not too hard or else he might cut into the delicate skin of the girl's foot. Suddenly, the root finally gave way to the force of his knife and he saw the girl sliding forward, screaming. 

" AHHHHHHHH~~~~ " 

Before the girl could slide off any further, the boy quickly grabbed onto her and pulled the girl up with all his might. After much screaming, pulling, and tugging the girl was finally on the safety of the grass. She was still in hysterics, and he was panting heavily. 

" Why... why were you... over there... by the cliff... Didn't... didn't you know it's dangerous? " 

The girl gradually got out of her panic state and answered him, " I... I only wanted to pick a flower... " 

" Are you crazy? Doing that dangerous act just to get a single flower? " 

" The flower is... for my mother... " 

" ... 

...Do you really need that flower? " 

The little girl smiled at him and nodded profusely. 

... ... ... 

" ... So, why is the flower so important, can you tell me? " 

" My mother's birthday is today. I once heard her said that she values a flower of which grows only here. So, I came for the flower to bring back as a gift for her birthday. Do you find me foolish? " 

" ... Quite. I find you quite foolish. Yet, I also find you a very nice young lady. " 

*blush* " ... Why, thank you, kind sir. ... May I ask you why you happened here when you did and saved me from that fall? " 

" Ah~ You see over there a little garden? I planted it. I was planning to come and work on it today when I chanced upon your tragedy. " 

" And for that, I once again must thank you. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably been dead. But, a garden? What did you plant in it? May I see? " 

" Yes, if you wish. 

...I've planted lots of things in here. Carrots... tomatoes... lettuce... leeks... strawberries... " 

" Strawberries?! I love strawberries! " 

" If you love strawberries, then you may take some as you like. Here, " said the boy as he handed her some strawberries to taste. 

" Oh, thank you very much! Doumo arigatougozaimasu!" She said as she cupped the strawberries tenderly given to her. 

" Thank you, kind sir! Ah, that reminds me, what is your name? " 

" Yuki. Sohma Yuki. " 

" Watashi ha Touru desu. You can call me Tohru! " Exclaims the girl happily. 

  
  


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" Yu~~ki~~ ku~~n! " 

" Tohru san! You came. " 

" Here you are. " Said the girl cheerfully as she handed the boy something. 

" What is this, Tohru san? " 

" Open it and see! " 

The boy called Yuki gently opened the package given to him by the girl and found cookies underneath the packaging. 

" Cookies? Did you bake again, Tohru san? " 

Tohru beamed at Yuki and bobbed her head up and down. Her soft, brown hair waving in the gentle movement made by her head. 

" Thank you, Tohru san. I really like your baking very much. " 

" That's why I made them! " 

Yuki gently smiled at her and led her to sit down in the shade of the tall trees surrounding his little garden. 

" It's been great with you coming here, Tohru san. I haven't felt as alone as I once had before I've met you. Thank you for keeping me company for the past weeks. " 

Tohru adverted her eyes from Yuki before he could see the redness that had slowly crept up her neck and into her face. She began to study a closeby flower. It was a very pretty flower. One with white petals with a purple hue, and its center a royal purple. 

While the girl stared at the flower that Yuki had planted in his garden, he in turn stared at the girl and studied her. Even though he was just a 10 year old boy, he couldn't help but noticing how fair the girl beside him was. She made him have a strong feeling of protecting her. Yet, somehow he could feel that the girl was hiding something from him. The girl only told him she was called Tohru and nothing else, not even her family name. 

' Why does she not tell me her full name? What is it that she's trying to hide from me? ' 

" Prin...... ......ru! ......cess...... Toh......! " 

" It seems like someone's looking for something, Tohru san. ... What's wrong? " Yuki asked Tohru when he saw her face paled slightly. 

" ...Yuki kun... I think, I should be going now. " Said Tohru as she got up from where she was just peacefully sitting and started walking very quickly to the opposite direction of the calling voice. 

" Tohru san? " 

The girl turned around and looked at Yuki for a moment. 

" I hope... I hope we will meet again, Yuki kun, " and she ran running into the cool, shady forest. 

" Tohru... " 

" Princess Tohru! Wait! Please don't go! " 

' Princess Tohru? ' Thought Yuki as he turned towards the man that cried out the name a second ago. The man was wearing the tunic and the pants that only servants in the palace wore. 

The man completely ignored Yuki and ran after Tohru into the forest, calling ' Princess Tohru ' all the time he ran. 

  
  


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Yuki wakes up from his dream and sits up on his bed in the palace's dungeon cell. He had not thought about 'Princess Tohru' for quite some time now. Since that summer day at his garden, he hadn't seen Tohru at all. He figured that fooling a commoner boy like him was a fun thing for a Princess to do. Natually, he became angry and shut off the memories of the lovely afternoons that he had spent with the little Tohru. Only when he read the notice in the village that these memories resurfaced once again. 

"Why, Tohru san? Why did you not tell me?" 

  
  


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In the courtyard of the palace. 

"Look who finally came back! Haru!" 

The young man called Haru glances over to the guards that called him and nods his head in recognition. 

"Is the captain with you, Haru?" 

"No. I didn't see him." 

"That's odd. Usually, he'll be the one that finds you. But this time after he left to find you, we haven't seen both of you since. Now that you've come back, where could he be?" 

" ... " 

"Well now, if it isn't our famous soldier, Sohma HatsuHaru, that has come back from his travels. How are you, my man?" 

Everyone in the courtyard kneels before King Uo and cries, "your Majesty." 

"Yes, yes, you may all rise.  
So, Haru, where have you been?" 

"I have lost track of the troop when we were still in the forest. I heard my captain went looking for me but I have not met him during my way back here. I figure that he might have come back already but I see that I am mistaken, your Majesty." 

"Yes, our best captain has not yet return to us. Say, Haru, since you have travelled throughout the forest, do you know the area well?" 

"I believe so, my Lord." 

"Then, will you help me with my plan?" 

"Of course, my Lord." 

"Very well, come with me to the main court." 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
"Bring the prisoner, Sohma Yuki, in here and also lead the other man, Sohma Akito, here as well." 

"Yes, your Majesty." 

... ... 

"Your Majesty, Sohma Akito and the prisoner Sohma Yuki has been brought forth." 

"Now, the time has come when both of you will start on your quest. Have you any last requests?" 

"No, your Majesty." 

"No, my Lord." 

"Very well, I will assign each of you an experienced soldier towards the forest. Both of them have been to the forest and back so they should know the area well. Bring forth Sohma HatsuHaru and Sohma Ritsu." 

"Sohma HatsuHaru here, your Majesty." 

"Sohma Ritsu here, your Majesty." 

"Sohma Ritsu, you shall be the escort for Sohma Akito's party and Sohma HatsuHaru, you shall be the escort for Sohma Yuki. Your quest begins now, I bid you both good luck."  
_' Even though Haru is an experienced soldier, his chances of getting lost is extremely high. So, if I send Ritsu with Sohma Akito, at least his chances of getting rid of the boar will be higher. Kekekeke~ I'm such a smart King!^^ '_

  
  
To be cont... 

  
  
**HK's little glossary of random jap words:**  
'Watashi ha ____ desu. ' = set phrase for introducing yourself; basically saying: 'I am ____ .' 


	4. Getting Lost and Excessive Appologies

**HK's notes:** Wow, people are reading my story O_O!!! Sugoi! Minna, doumo arigatougozaimasu!^^  
So, I've decided! From now on, I'll post a new chapter after I've received **2 new** reviews! And also the fact that I've written a chap... It's just that I've got sick lately so I'm not genki enough to write anything. Sumanne, minna.  
Ok, so enough said, on with the story^^  
Thanks once again for all the reviews! Atashi no tomodachi, arigatou!^^ I'll try to write more better for the sake of all of you^^ 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Part.4 **Getting Lost and Excessive Appologizing** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
"Here we are! We've finally reached the entrance to the damned forest." Cries a young man with white hair on the top and black hair at the roots to his companion besides him. The companion, with his slate hair, sweatdrops and eyes the one beside him. 

"Did the King mention that you were experienced and you've been to this very forest before, HatsuHaru san?" Tries Yuki. 

"Why are you so distant, Yuki? We've only not seen each other for 5 months. That's nothing to keep us apart! We are cousins after all!" 

"Very well, Haru. Are you sure you know the area well?" 

Haru stares at Yuki with his blank, expressionless face and answers, " ... I might be... " 

Yuki finally gives up and says to Haru, "we should camp for the night, Haru. Since, we've taken the whole day to get to this forest." 

"Yes, let's. I shall protect you tonight, Yuki, so you do not have to worry about safety." 

"Sure, Haru. Now, will you go get us some firewood? And don't go off too far, you know how your sense of direction is." 

"Hai, Yuki. Whatever you say." 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
Amongst the trees in the forest, a trio walks mindlessly through the foliage when all of a sudden the raven haired young man of the trio stops walking. 

"Where. Are. We?" he demanded. 

"I--I-am not sure, sir. We should be nearing the boar's lair by now... masaka, I've made a wrong turn? NO! IT CAN'T BE!!! I'M SORRY!!! I'M SO SORRY, AKITO SAN! I'M SORRY, HATORI SAN! I'M SUCH AN IDIOT! I DO NOT DESERVE TO STAND AMONG YOU! I DO NOT DESERVE TO LIVE! GOMENNASAI!! GO--ME---N-NA----SA-----I!!!!!!!!!!!" 

"Fool! Cease your excessive screaming! You're giving me a headache!" 

"OH NO!!! NOW I'VE GIVEN THE GALLIANT AKITO SAN A HEADACHE!!! THAT IS TRULY AN ACT OF A DEVIL!!! I APPOLOGIZE TO YOU! I APPOLOGIZE TO THE ENTIRE WORLD!!! GOOOMEEEENNAAASAAAAAIIII!!!!" 

"Hatori, do something!" 

The man called Hatori then tries to use his skills in doctoring to help cease the boy from panicking and freaking out. But his attempts proves failure. 

"I'm sorry Akito, I can't find any way to stop Ritsu. Maybe once he tires out he will stop." 

Akito glares once at Hatori, walks a little farther away and sits down while cranky signs appears near his forehead. While Hatori continues to calm the panicking, Ritsu. 

"OH NO!!! I'VE MADE AKITO SAN MAD!!! WHAT SHALL I DO??? WHAT IF HE GETS ATTACKED BY A WILD BEAST??? WHAT IF HE GETS EATEN???? THEN WHAT WILL I DO???? WHAT WILL BECOME OF HATORI SAN???? I DO NOT DESERVE TO EXIST!! I DO NOT DESERVE TO LIVE!!! I MIGHT AS WELL JUST KILL MYSELF!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
It is morning. The sunbeams of the lovely day penetrates through the leafy foliage of the treetops and shines upon two sleeping young man. The rays highlight the white and black hair of Haru's and the slate gray hair of Yuki's. They are both sound asleep. Birds chirp and sing to each other in the treetops as a greeting for the beautiful morning. Suddenly, something made rustling sounds in the bushes not far from the duo. 

Yuki opens his eyes with a start and sits up. His usually lavender eyes appearing a shade darker than usual as he scans the bushes near them. 

_' I know I heard something. Where are you...? '_

But as soon as he has sit up, the rustling sound has stop. He can't hear anything else unusual and so he turns to wake up his companion. 

"Haru, it's morning already. Wake up." 

Haru merely opens his eyes a little so two slits form, replies Yuki with a grunt, rolls around to the other side, and keeps sleeping. 

Yuki stares at Haru for a bit and says in a dangerous tone, "Haru, I know morning sucks! I don't like mornings anymore than you do. But if you don't wake up now, I will be forced to hurt you(1). I'll give you three seconds. Three!" 

Haru remains sleeping. 

"Two!" Demands Yuki as veins start to appear on his forehead. 

Not even a stir. 

"One!" Threatens Yuki as he pulls Haru up by the collar and quickly drops him back down on the ground when he realizes what he was about to do to his cousin. 

_'I must really wake myself up before doing anything. This is really becoming a problem! '_

The poor Haru that has been 'accidentally dropped' onto the ground is now fully awake. But something seems different in the gleam of his eyes. 

"Yuki... What did you just do to me?" 

_' Great, now look what I've done... '_ thought Yuki as he quickly lowers his hand that was covering his eyes a minute ago while he was thinking and tries to comfort his cousin, "I, I'm sorry Haru. I didn't mean to drop you, really! ...You're not going to turn 'Black' on me, would you?" 

"Too late!" Yells Haru as he charges towards Yuki and attempts to attack him. 

Suddenly a blur of light gray comes through the forest and zooms across the little clearing where Yuki and Haru is. After the dust settles, Yuki is no where to be found. 

"YUKI!!! I WILL FIND YOU!!! AND WHEN I FIND YOU, YOU WILL MEET YOUR DEATH!!!" 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_' Wha... what's going on? '_ Wonders Yuki as he surveys the situation at the moment: 

He is currently sitting on top of something light gray, soft, and furry. The creature has two long ear-like things sticking out on what seems to be the creature's head and they are moving at incredible speed through the forest. 

Suddenly the creatures said, "I think we've come to a safe distance from Haru already. Lets stop here," and the creature gradually came to a halt near a sparkling brook. 

Yuki gingerly got off the creature's back and looks at it with curiosity. The creature, as it turns out, is actually an oversize hare. Its fur is light gray in colour with a little brown on the tips of its ears. Its eyes are of the hazel colour and they are looking at Yuki with the same curiosity in them. 

The creature suddenly speaks again, "You must be Yuki, Haru's cousin, ne?!" 

"H-Hai. ......Who are you?" 

"I'm Momiji, I live here." 

"In the forest?" 

"Hai!" 

_' Well, of course he lives here, otherwise I wouldn't see him here... '_ Thought Yuki and says to Momiji, "Thank you for saving me back there." 

"Oh no problem! I've took up that job starting 5 months ago!" Exclaims Momiji cheerfully. 

"_Job_? What job?" 

"The job of rescuing innocent people from the evil 'Black Haru'!" 

Yuki looks at Momiji and smiles weakly, "Right..." 

"Of course! But, do not fear, Haru will return to being 'White' shortly... but by then he wouldn't be in the same place as we've last saw him... That'd be a problem, ne? ...Oh well, I can always find him again, do not worry! Are you hungry? Shall we eat? I know of a really nice fruit tree nearby! Do you want to eat something? I-" 

Yuki cuts off Momiji's ramblings by simply replying, "Yes, some food would be nice, Momiji. Thank you." 

"No problem," says Momiji energetically and bounces off to find the fruits he just said. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
The other party in the other side of the forest, it seems, is not faring any better than Yuki's party: 

"Hatori! Shut. Him. Up." Spits out Akito through his clenched teeth. 

"Akito san, i'm trying." Cries Hatori exasperately. 

"GOMENNASAI!!! AM I ANNOYING AKITO SAN?!?!?! AM I ANNOYING HATORI SAN?!?!?!?! I'M SO SINFUL!!! THIS IS TRULY UNFORGIVABLE!!!! I CANNOT BE FORGIVEN!!! I KNOW I SHOULD NOT HAVE COME ON THIS QUEST AS AN ESCORT! I AM A FAILURE AS AN ESCORT! I CANNOT BE AN ESCORT! I CANNOT EVEN BE A SOLDIER! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M GOOD AT! I'M NOT GOOD AT ANYTHING! I'M SORRY! GOMENNASAI! I'LL APPOLOGIZE TO YOU! I'LL APPOLOGIZE TO THE ENTIRE WORLD! GOMENNASAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
As Yuki awaits the returning of Momiji, two bright orange eyes peered at Yuki's back behind a thick tree trunk. 

She turns to her companion and whispers: "Do you think it's him?" 

Her companion, with his light brown hair, turns to look at her with chocolate coloured eyes and answers: "Could be..." 

  
To be cont... 

  
  
**HK's little glossary of random jap words:**  
//I'm sorry if there's too much words this time! Gomennasai! XP //  
sugoi = incredible  
minna = everyone  
doumo arigatou = (formal) |very much| |thank you| --> which means --> thank you very much  
genki = energy  
sumanne = (slang) I'm sorry/ excuse me  
atashi = (slang) me/ I  
tomodachi = friends  
masaka = can it be?  
gomennasai = (formal) I'm sorry  


**HK's little Ed note:**  
(1) A cranky Yuki in the morning. Possible? Yes. Read the comic for proof, if you like^^ He's quite dangerous in his "awake-yet-not-quite-awake" state! 


	5. Of Past and Present

**HK's notes:** Actually... this was gonna be a short chap... but, hey~ it seems a lot of ppl like long chaps, ne? So~ I crunched, 2 chaps maybe, together~ hope it's not too bad~   
Ok, syao, this chap is for u! Coz... kekekeke~ can u guess? XD 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Part.5 **Of Past Misunderstanding and Present Explainations** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_ " Yuki kun, do you like flowers? " Asks a dainty girl wearing a short white dress with a soft tinge of pink in its laces to the lavender-eyed boy sitting next to her on the soft green grass. _

The sun was smiling upon them. The sky had white wisps of clouds dotting randomly on the clear blue crystal sky. It was still summer. Butterflies floated here and there among the extravagantly blooming flowers. 

The boy watches as the gentle breeze lifts strands of the girl's rich chocolate coloured hair and blows them across her porcelain-like face. 

" Flowers? ...Umm... I don't hate them. Why do you ask Tohru san? " 

" Iie, I was just wondering since I have never seen you plant any flowers in your garden. " Explains Tohru as she looks upon the jade-like leaves of the strawberry plants in Yuki's garden and brushes them with her delicate white fingers gingerly. 

Yuki stared intently at Tohru and asked wonderingly: " ......Tell me Tohru san, what is your favourite colour? " 

Tohru turned to look at Yuki with a puzzled look made by her fair features and exclaimed: " Favourite colour? " She pondered for a moment and answered: " Umm... actually, I like any colour there is! They all seem so pretty! " 

" But you must have one colour that you love more than the rest, don't you Tohru san? " 

Tohru tilted her head off to the side and replied: " ... ... Then... I think, pink! " 

Now it was Yuki's turn to be puzzled and he asked her: " Why pink, Tohru san? " 

" Because it reminds me of strawberries and I love strawberries! " She exclaimed cheerfully, as always. 

" I see. " Said Yuki thoughtfully. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_ " Where did these flowers spring up from, Yuki kun? They are... " _

" Yes, Tohru san? " Whispers Yuki softly, waiting for her response. 

" They are beautiful! ' Breathes Tohru as she stares at them with wonderment in her eyes. 

" I'm glad you like them, Tohru san. " Said Yuki with clear relief in his tone. 

The little Tohru turns to face Yuki. Her eyes were sparkling. Her face was flushed with joy. She asks him: " Yuki kun, what kind of flowers are these with pink petals and white centers? " 

Yuki pried his eyes from staring at the little Tohru and found his voice: " Those are called Cyclamen, they are of the Primrose family. " 

" They are beautiful! " Breathed Tohru again, and then she pointed to the other set of flowers and asked: " What about those white ones with purple centers, Yuki kun? They are very pretty too! " 

" Those are Violets. ... ... " 

" Violets? But how can that be? I've never seen any violets that has white petals with a purple tinge!? Not to mention that the centers are of a royal purple. It's extraordinary! " 

" ... Well, Tohru san, the reason of that being is... I've mixed it with another flower so that's why it appears like that. " 

" Hontouni?! That's so incredible! " Exclaims the bewildered Tohru. 

" Do you like the flowers, Tohru san? " Ventures the hopeful Yuki. 

" Yes! I love both these flowers! Especially the violets because they have such a sweet scent to them! And they look so beautiful! " 

" I'm glad, Tohru san. I'm really glad. " Smiled Yuki gently as he looked upon the beaming girl with her flowing chocolate hair and delicate features. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
Yuki wakes up from his dream. 

_' Another memory from the past. Why do I always think about her...? '_

Yuki looks around to see where he is and searches his memory to relive what had happened to him yesterday. 

He remembered he was with Haru in the morning yesterday then because he made Haru turn 'Black', a giant hare by the name of Momiji came to his rescue and they stopped by a brook. After they had some fruits they continued on Yuki's quest to find the boar. Momiji told him that he knows where the boar is and he could take Yuki to it. So, night fell and they went to bed. He also remembered something else. Yesterday, he was being followed, the whole day. 

_' Who would be following me? '_ Ponders Yuki as he sits up from where he is lying. _' And where did Momiji go? He's not here! '_

Clearly, the oversize hare has woken up before Yuki and left. 

_' Didn't he say that he was going to take me to the boar? ... Oh well, guess I'll have to find it myself then... '_

As he got up, he heard rustlings and whisperings in a bush nearby. 

_' That's strange... what could that be...? '_ Wonders Yuki as he creeps silently up to that particular bush. 

Behind the bush, he finds two children. A girl with orange hair and orange eyes while the boy has light brown hair, his eyes are closed. The girl is trying to wake the boy up by gently shaking him and whispering to him to get up. 

Yuki watches them curiously and then as the boy slowly opens his eyes from the girl's shaking, the little boy notices him. 

"Good morning." Greets Yuki courteously. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
"So you two were the ones following me all day yesterday, ne?" Yuki asks them complacently. 

The girl shyly looks away while the boy lifts his head and stares defiantly at Yuki. 

"So what if we were? Do you have a problem? Or can you give me a law in this particular kingdom that states following someone is against the law? But hey, why do we even care about laws? We're not even under its influence or power." 

Yuki lets out a soft chuckle and eyes the rambling boy curiously, "You sure do talk a lot, ne? ... But what do you mean you're not under the law's power?" 

"We're not considered part of this kingdom's people." 

"Why?" 

"Because...we are... fairies!" 

Yuki eyes them suspiciously and replies: "Right..." 

The girl merely blushes and the boy, with his lightly flushing face, stares hard at Yuki and states: "It's true! We aren't like... ... normal people..." 

Yuki furrows his brows a bit but decides to let the matter go since he never intrudes on other's privacy when they don't want to let him know, and by the looks on their faces they don't really want Yuki to know. So, he decides to change the subject. 

"Would you mind telling me your names then? I'd like to get to know you two. We can be friends." 

This time the little girl speaks. Taking a deep bow, she says: "My name is Kisa.... my cousin here, is Hiro. Hajimemashite." 

Yuki returns the curtsey and says: "Yoroshiku." 

Hiro makes a grunt and turns away. 

Kisa timidly pulls Yuki's sleeve and meekly says to Yuki, "Anou ne, are you Yuki san?" 

"Yes, that's right. I'm Yuki." 

"Then... I.... ... have something.... for you...." says the girl shyly as she reveals a shiny shield from behind her back and handing it to Yuki. "Oneechan said to give this shield to you." 

Yuki looks puzzled as he receives the shield. _' Who would be giving a shield to me? '_ He looks at Kisa and asks her: "Who's this 'Oneechan' you speak of? Is she another fairy?" 

"I'm the one she calls 'Oneechan'," says a voice behind Yuki. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_' That voice, could it be? '_ Yuki quickly whirls around and sees the one he's been dreaming all these nights. "Tohru san..." He whispers. 

The girl standing in front of Yuki smiles gently at him. Her brown hair flows in the breeze, and her pale dress ripples lightly. In her arms, she carries an orange cat. 

"It's been a long time Yuki kun. How are you?" 

Yuki quickly drops his gaze somewhere else and replies coldly, "I'm fine. But what is a Princess like you doing here?" 

"I came to see you." 

Yuki looked at Tohru and said sarcastically, "See me? You must be kidding, 'Princess'!" 

Tohru does not seem to notice the venom slowly creeping into Yuki's voice, but the cat in her arms stirs a bit. She says: "I heard you are one of the participants on the quest. I... I'm happy to have heard that." 

"Well then, I didn't know you were happy to hear a person being a prisoner as well. That's very considerate, Princess." Spits out Yuki. 

"I... I didn't know you were a prisoner..." Stammers Tohru, finally realizing Yuki's current emotion. 

"Then you must not know that as a prisoner, I was forced to participate in this quest. If I didn't, both me and my brother would be killed." Continues Yuki, slightly increasing the acidity in his tone. 

Tohru furrows her slim brows a bit and asks, "I... I didn't know... Why are you mad at me, Yuki kun?" 

"Mad? How can I be mad at a 'Princess'?" 

"But you obviously are! Yuki kun, please tell me what I have done to make you so angry at me!" 

"I am merely a common boy, I don't have any rights to talk to you, let alone be mad. You did not tell me anything when we first met and left. Why should I tell you everything now? If you find me so enjoyable as a toy so much, I'm sure you'll find that baka neko in your arms to be as enjoyable as well. Well then, I bid you, Princess, and that baka neko good day. I must be on my way." With that said, Yuki turns to leave. 

"But... Yuki kun..." 

Suddenly the orange cat in Tohru's arms yells from his spot, "Kuso nezumi, appologize to Princess Tohru right now!" 

Yuki turns back to face him and simply says, "No." 

"Why you?!" The fur on the cat immediately stands up. "Ok, I'll take you on, kuso nezumi... if I wasn't so badly injured..." 

Yuki smirks and looks at the cat, "Really? Where are you hurt, baka neko?" 

"It is true, Yuki kun, Kyo kun is hurt. He is already hurt when I found him." 

Yuki glances at her and turns to leave once more. 

"Wait! Yuki kun... I think I know why you are mad at me... ... ...The reason I didn't tell you about my true identity is not because I didn't trust you... It's because I was afraid that you'll treat me like all the other people that knows I'm a Princess. It's not that I don't like them... It's just that... I wanted a friend... and then I found you. I wanted to experience what it is like to just be a normal girl. I wanted to tell you but then my servant finally found me and I couldn't slip out of the palace anymore... I'm sorry, Yuki kun..." 

During Tohru's speech, Yuki has been standing still with his back to Tohru. After her speech, Yuki coldly replies, "There's no need... It's all past now..." and then he begins to walks away. 

"Stop, you kuso nezumi!" 

Yuki stops once more, and still with his back to them, he says: "Now what?" 

"What Princess Tohru says is true! I can be a witness! Even though I think Tohru chan deserves better than you, I cannot deny the fact that she keeps mentioning you everytime I see her. I've only met her a couple of months ago and all this time she mentions you! Isn't that enough for a girl that has not seen you for seven years?!" 

Yuki slowly turns around and looks at Tohru. He notices the tears that had formed in her eyes and rolled down her pretty face. Tears that should not be there. He suddenly realizes how wrong he has been all these years for letting his anger rise and cover up the love he has for this fair maiden in front of him. He's determined to mend his ways and stop the tears from falling down his fair lady's cheeks. 

"I'm sorry Princess Tohru... I'm sorry Tohru san.... Will you ever forgive me for my harsh words and barbaric attitude?" 

The teary-eyed Tohru finally breaks a smile on her lips and nods vigorously, like she did exactly seven years ago. 

Yuki comes up to Tohru and lifts his finger to wipe the tears falling down Tohru's face gently. "Please don't cry, Tohru san. You're making me sad." 

"Go...gomennasai....." She keeps smiling through her tears. 

"Ok you two lovebirds, break it up already! I'm an injured kitty here! I need medical attention??" 

"Baka neko..." curses Yuki under his breath. He then looks into Tohru's eyes, "Tohru san, why don't you go back to the palace? It's much safer there since there is a boar roaming around there." 

At this the orange cat flinches a bit but no one seems to notice. 

"But, I..." 

"No buts, Tohru san, you should get back to the palace as soon as possible. ...That way... I wouldn't have to worry about your safety." 

Tohru blushes a bit and nods quietly to the statement. The two children that were silent all along their conversations suddenly speaks up. "Why don't we escort Oneechan back to the palace? We know the way out of this forest." 

"Then, please take care of Tohru san for me." 

"We will. The boar you're looking for is just ahead. Keep walking north and you will soon find the boar you seek." 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
Yuki went further up north as soon as he bid his farewells with Tohru and her company. The forest seems less and less dense. As he walks further in, more and more tree trunks lay strewn all over the forest floor. There are a lot of stumps as well. The grass seems to be trampled on and there aren't a lot of flowers either. 

_' Why are there so many tree trunks on the floor? '_ Wonders Yuki. 

As he walks further in, Yuki also notices banging and crashing noises coming from somewhere ahead of him. Yuki becomes more curious and he sets his pace faster. Finally, he reaches the source of the noise and this is what he see: 

A man sitting very calmly in the middle of a clearing, and some unknown brown object seems to be flying, no, crashing into the trees surrounding the clearing. Round and round it goes... 

Yuki notices that the man is actually his long lost cousin, Sohma Shigure. "Shigure! So, this is where you are all along. Your troops have been looking for you, you know?" 

The man sitting in the middle of the clearing looks up and sees Yuki. His lips break into a bright smile and he yells to Yuki, "Yuki! My dear cousin. What brings you here?" 

"Never mind that, Shigure. I'll get you out of this mess." 

With that said, Yuki charges at the unknown object, which as it turns out is actually the boar that Yuki has been seeking all this time. 

"STOP!" 

  


  
To be cont... 

  
  
**HK's little glossary of random jap words:**  
iie = no/ nothing  
hontouni = really  
hajimemashite = first time meeting you yoroshiku = (colloquial, slang) nice to meet you  
anou = ummm...  
oneechan = older sister / or some younger person calling someone (female) older than them  
neko = cat  
nezumi = mouse 


	6. side story

**HK's notes:** This is a little side story, not a continuation chapter. Kinda like a collection of stories about the protagonists when they were young.   
And I'm sorry that I didn't update any sooner... just that... heh heh heh~ I lost my plot notes and then... lost my writing passion as well =P Coz... I did very badly on my final English exam _""" That just sucked out a lot of my inspiration~ But I'll try my best to finish this story. If not... I'll prolly just delete this whole thing altogether. Hopefully it won't end up that way... Well, enuf rambling, on with the story~   
Sleeping Tiger san... I hope I didn't do too bad on your part =P 

"...speech..."  
_' ...thought... '_  
*...action...* 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ **side story** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_Narrator (Kumo): This is a short little story that took place not too long after Yuki the peasant boy met Princess Tohru. A heartwarming interlude between two ten year olds. A 'forget-me-not' moment of... _

Kyo: Enough! Your talking is causing me a headache. 

Yuki: Baka neko, it's none of your business. Maybe you're just jealous cause she probably won't talk about you. 

Kyo: WHY YOU KUSO NEZUMI!!! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS THIS TIME!!! COME ON! I'LL TAKE YOU ON RIGHT NOW!! ONE ON ONE!!! 

*Yuki narrows his eyes at Kyo* 

Yuki: Don't bore me this time, baka neko. 

... ... ... 

*Kumo sweatdrops as fighting between the two takes place* 

Kumo: Ummm... Maybe I should just start the story now, ne? ... ... ... 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ **side story (restart)** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
A little ten year old boy gingerly carries a bag up a tall hill near a cliff. He stops on top of the hill and places the bag down near a caringly sowed garden. He wipes the sweatdrops forming on his forehead and sits down in the shade by the garden. He seems to be waiting for someone... 

"Yuki kun, you're here already?" 

The little boy looks up at the source of the sound and finds the person he has been waiting for. 

"Of course Tohru san, I would never have you wait for me. That'd be dangerous." 

The chocolate-haired girl crinkles her nose and ask, "Why would that be? Why would I wait for you be dangerous?" 

"Well... first of all, there might be some wierd old men lurking up here in the hill. And when they see a little girl as pretty as you all alone here, who knows what kinds of things they will do to you?" 

The little girl lets out a soft giggle and the boy continues. 

"...And besides, if I'm not here to supervise who knows when you'll lean over the side of the cliff like last time...?" 

Tohru's face quickly blushes a fair shade of pink and covers her face with her hands. 

"Yuki kun, please don't mention that again. I only wanted to..." 

Yuki muffles a few laughs before he goes up to Tohru and takes her hands away from her face. 

"I'm sorry, Tohru san. I won't tease you about it again. Come, look what I've brought for you today." 

Yuki quickly leads Tohru to where he laid down the bag he was carrying up the hill and opens it before her. Inside are tools for planting... 

"Strawberries! You've brought strawberry seeds! Are you planning on teaching me how to plant strawberries, Yuki kun?" 

Yuki smiles and nods his slate-haired head, "Yes, Tohru san, that's exactly what I plan to do today. Do you want to?" 

Tohru beams at Yuki and nods her head. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
" Meo~~~~~~~~w " cries an orange cat. 

_' Oh this is soooooo boring... whyever did I end up like this? ...Maybe ...because ...everyone thinks I'm a monster ... ...I've always been alone... No one in my family ever liked me... even my own mother... Maybe... even she ... ...hates me...? '_

As the orange cat lies by the lake in the shade wallowing in his self-pity, a brown boar roams nearby, searching for something... 

_' Why must I be alone? Why must no one like me and leave me all alone? I only want someone to love and hold me and tell me everything is alright. Is that too much to ask??? '_

Finally, the boar stops by the lake and lays down to rest. A single tear rolls down the boar's cheek and falls onto a blade of grass near the resting boar. 

A voice speaks up, "What's wrong with you? Are you crying?" 

The boar snaps back into reality and sees an orange cat lying in the shade not far away. 

"Of course I'm crying! Why else would tears be falling from my eyes???" Cries the boar exasperately. 

The orange cat eyes the boar that had just intruded on its solitude and says nothing. The boar, seeing the cat not intending to reply suddenly becomes very angry. 

"Oh so that's it! Just ignore me and pretend I don't even exist! It's ok, it's not that big a deal anyways. I'm just a nobody that no one wants. It's no problem at all..." 

The cat looks up again and sees the boar sorrow-filled expression and tear-streaked face. 

_' She's... just like me... '_

"... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to not reply. I was just thinking about some things... Are you ok?" 

The boar looks at the cat through her tear-filled eyes and slowly nods, "I'm ok now. I guess I just need to let out some feelings that I've been holding in for too long... I guess... thank you." 

The cat makes a soft grunt as a reply. 

"Ne... what's your name?" Asks the boar. 

"... Kyo." Replies the cat. 

The boar beams at the cat and says, "My name is Kagura. Yoroshiku ne." 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
"Kyo, my darling, where are you~~~~~~~~~?" Comes the cry of the ever so obsessive... 

_' Boar. It's Kagura again, oh no...! '_ Thought Kyo as his bright orange fur stands up in fright. 

For the past weeks or so, Kagura the boar has become very attached to Kyo the cat. Where ever Kyo goes, Kagura follows. However, where ever Kagura goes, Kyo goes the opposite direction, and Kagura will follow. See the picture? 

And today, Kyo has been hiding from Kagura, again. 

"Kyo dearest, please come out. Where are you? Are you hurt? Say something~~~!" 

Why does Kyo reject Kagura you ask? Is it because they are of different species? Or is it because of something else... 

_' Maybe I should go out now and appologize before I get hurt... but even if I go out now, it'd probably be too late and I'll still get hurt... So, the best solution would be to just stay here as long as possible and not have her find me... ... ...Where did she go? I can't hear her. Could she have left...?'_

Suddenly, Kyo have this tingly feeling at the back of his neck. As he slowly turns around to look what is behind him he is instantly snatched up from where he was hiding and flung around like he is some unwanted rag doll. Around and around Kyo goes, like on a merry-go-round. 

"KYO, HOW CAN YOU HIDE FROM ME??? DO YOU NOT LOVE ME??? DO YOU NOT NEED ME ANYMORE??? I WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH BEHAVIOUR!!! YOU MUST BE PUNISHED!!!" Bellows the darken faced, eyes gleaming Kagura. 

After a couple more high velocity spins and high speed ramming into tree trunks, Kagura suddenly stops and looks at the half dead Kyo. 

"Kyo, my dearest, who did this to you??? Tell me Kyo, my honeybun. I'll protect you next time." Proclaims Kagura as she holds Kyo in a death-grip like hug. 

_' When will this nightmare end??? I... need... ... to... ... es...cape... '_

"Kyo!! Are you ok??? Kyo, speak to me?!?! Who made you faint??? Kyo?!?!" 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~ a month later ~+~+~+~+~

  
  
_' Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow........ '_

A lone orange cat slowly makes his way across the forest and into a clearing beside a cliff. His body bore a lot of bruises and cuts. 

_' I finally managed to get away from Kagura. I swear I will not make the same mistake twice as to trust any kind of females again! '_ Thought Kyo as he slowly walks into the clearing. 

A breeze softly blows across the clearing carrying a fresh scent of something, delicious. Kyo turns his head upwards and sniffs the air eagerly. 

_' Sardines? How can I smell sardines all the way up here? There's no rivers or lakes anywhere near here... '_

As Kyo sniffs the air in wonderment, his four paws lead him to the source of the smell and he finds himself standing in front of a very neat and tidy garden. 

_' A garden? Why would I smell sardines from a garden (1)? '_

Kyo slowly sniffs through the garden and finally finds where the smell comes from, a bunch of green plants. Kyo studied the plants for a bit then he was disturbed by the growl of his stomach. 

_' I guess... it won't be too big of a deal if I just helped myself to some of these delicious smelling plants. I mean... I'm only taking a little bit. I don't think the planter would mind too much. '_

After much reassuring to himself that the planter would not be mad at him, Kyo lowers his head and opens his mouth to help himself to some of the green, luscious, juicy plants. 

... ... ... 

"UUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *spitspit* THIS IS DISGUSTING~!!!!!!! *spit* What *spit* what in the world is this????" Exclaims Kyo as he spits out the green stuff. 

"Hey! What did you do to my garden?" Comes the cry of a lavender-eyed, slate-haired boy. The boy made his way over to where Kyo was and roughly picked the cat up off the ground. The boy eyed Kyo and the mess he made when he was spitting out the greens. His eyes slowly turn into two dangerous looking slits. One of those 'I-will-kill-you-if-you-do-not-explain" kind of look. 

"What have you done to my leeks?" 

"I... I just... I was just... hungry. And... I... smelt sardines. So... I..." 

"Those were my leeks. You had no permission to eat anything from **my** garden. And even if you did ate anything, you need not spit it out." 

"I.. I'm sorry. ... ...But it was really disgusting..." 

"What did you say???" 

"NO, it was nothing. I didn't say anything!" 

"Too late, I heard it!" And with that said, the boy threw the cat with all his might into the forest. After watching it disappear into the distance, he began to unpack the tools that he had brought with him. 

_' Too bad he showed up, I was in need of something to help me take my mind off of... her... Princess... Tohru... '_

  
  


~+~+ 6 years and a little more later +~+~

  
  
Hushed voices sounded behind some bushes deep within a forest. 

"I can't believe we've finally found him!!!" 

"I know, isn't it, like, just the best thing ever?" 

"Hush girls, if we speak anymore, he'll discover us!" 

The two that spoke quickly cease their talking and giggle softly. Seven others gather around and wait for their leader to speak. 

"My dear friends, today we gather together for one thing and one thing only and that is our beloved, Kyo!" 

The ten that gathered together giggled a little. Some of them peered out from their hiding spot to the other side of the bush where a bright orange cat lay resting in the sunlight. These ten, are not witches, nor any fangirls of an ordinary cat. They are 'fan-cats', yes, they are all cats. 

"Minna san, on the count of three we'll all pounce on him so he can't escape from us. Shu, make sure the others don't jump too hard on Kyo. We wouldn't want our beloved Kyo to get hurt now do we?" 

"Aye aye, Sleeping Tiger san." 

"One." 

All the felines got ready to pounce. 

"Two." 

The hairs of their furs stood on end, anticipating that single moment. 

"Three!" Cried Sleeping Tiger the leader of the group as they all pounced onto the unsuspecting Kyo that was taking his usual afternoon nap. Kyo usually take naps during the afternoon because that is when Kagura the boar goes off on her own and does her own private things. 

Kyo, being the confused cat that he was, got clobbered by ten felines all at once. 

"What in the world is going on? Who are you people? Get off of me!!!" 

"We are all fans of you, dear Kyo kun. We've admired you for a looooooonnnng time now!" 

"What?!?! What's the meaning of this? Is this some sort of joke? If it is, it sure is not funny. Get off me right now before I hurt all of you!" 

Just then all the hairs on Kyo's fur stood up. An ice freezing chill went down his spine. He knows this time it could be the end. The end, to his life. 

"What's wrong, Kyo kun? Why are you so cold? Are you ok?" Asks an unsuspecting feline. 

Suddenly a strong wind blew across the clearing and hit the pile of cats. 

"Kyo..... Who are these people.......?" 

All the cats looked up and saw a boar standing near them. Its face was hidden in the shadow casted by the sun. 

"Ummm... Kagura, it's not what it seems... I don't even know them. I..." 

"So, you don't know them. But... if you don't know them... WHY ARE THEY ALL OVER YOUUUUU???????" 

Kagura suddenly charges into the pile of cats and caused all the cats to fly off into different directions. She picked up Kyo and threw him around all over the place. 

"HOW CAN YOU BETRAY ME AND TURN TOWARDS THESE CATS?????? WAS I NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU???? DO YOU NOT LOVE ME ANYMORE, KYO?????? I WILL NOT HAVE YOU LEAVE ME!!! NEVER!!!!!!!! YOU WILL STAY WITH ME FOREVER AND EVER!!!!!! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!" 

Kyo, being in Kagura's grip of death and having been bashed into tree trunk after tree trunk was not in the mental and physical state of being threatened by her words. Rather he is more threatened by her brute strength and never ending punishment. Then, as if a miracle happened, Kagura lost her grip on Kyo and Kyo was caused to fly with an arc to the other side of the forest. 

  
  


~+~ On the other side of the forest ~+~

  
  
"Princess Tohru, you know you cannot come out of the palace. If King Uo and Queen Hana ever finds out, they're going to have my head for sure!" 

"I'm sorry, Allen. But I really needed to get out of the palace. I cannot stand being in there any longer... I need some fresh air. I promise you, I'll go back not too long after, alright?" 

"But..." 

Tohru was about to say something when suddenly an orange streak fell from the sky and landed in a heap at her feet. She was puzzled by this strange thing and so she kneeled down and poked at the orange ball. 

"Uhhhhh....." said the orange heap. 

"AHHHHH!!!!" Cried the princess. 

The princess, being the ever-so-smart girl that she is, realized that the orange heap was in fact an injured orange cat. So, she and her servant picked the cat up and carried the cat back to the castle and had the royal doctor heal the cat back up. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
"Kyo? Where are you?? Where did you go??? ANSWER ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   
  


  
  
Original story will be continued in the next chapter... =P 

  
  
**HK's little glossary of random jap words:**  
Ne. = kinda like 'Hey'  
Yoroshiku ne = Nice to meet you (smile)  
Minna san = everyone 

**HK's little Ed note:**  
(1) I'm sure a lot of ppl know gardeners usually use sth like fish bones, fish heads and fish guts to use as fertilizer for their gardens. They work as great fertilizers but they really attract cats. ;) And if I remember correctly, Kyo really likes sardines^^ 

**Kumo's footnote:**  
Ummm... this is a really long chapter, isn't it? ...Kinda even makes me not wanting to read it too... =P LOL~ XD Hope it wasn't too confusing. =P I'm sorry if it sucked by the end of the chapter... Maybe I should have waited another day to finish it... but... heh heh~ Forgive me, minna! XP 


	7. Spells or Curses

**HK's notes:** I'm very surprised that someone actually likes my sidestory O_O Amazing! Thank you very much for liking it, it gives me a lot of energy to keep writing =P And to think, I thought it wasn't funny. Hehe, thankyouthankyouthankyou ^_^   
So yea, hope ppl likes this chappie as well. Plz write me a review ne?^^   
I should really stop writing in the dead of the night... guess what time it is... 3:50am. I started near 1am. Not a good habit to have. Nope, not good at all... *falls asleep on the keyboard* 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Part.6 **Spells or Curses** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
Yuki charges at the white speckled brown boar, preparing to strike at it. His arm held the shield that the fairies Kisa and Hiro gave him earlier closely to his body since he has no other weapon at hand. He had to do something fast to save his cousin Shigure, otherwise the boar will surely get him... 

"No! Stop, Yuki! Don't hurt her!" Yells Shigure. 

Yuki slows to a halt and turns his head to face Shigure and gave him a puzzled look. His face seems to ask _'Are you crazy? I'm trying to save you here, why are you stopping me?_' 

Shigure calmly gets up from where he was sitting in the clearing and this time, he turns to yell at the boar, "Kagura, stop running around and come meet Yuki!" 

Miraculously enough, the boar stops its mad running into the trees and very quietly trots up to Yuki. 

"Hajimemashite, I'm Souma Kagura. Kagura the boar." 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
As Yuki is coming out of his dazed state, Shigure looked at him and asked him, "You probably didn't hear a single word I just told you, na Yuki?" 

Yuki merely shook his head to prove Shigure's assumption. 

"Very well, I'll just start from the start... 

...Long ago, our family, the Souma's, all lived together on a huge estate. We all knew each other and lived together happily. But then one day, five women in the family got together and had a picnic on the lush green fields of the Souma's huge estate. Actually, there wasn't any wrong with women getting together and picnic'ing but after some time their conversation took a bad turn... 

_'Hey, which one of us do you think is the prettiest?' Mused one of the ladies.  
'Of course it's me, I'm the prettiest amongst all of us.' States one confidently.  
'No, how can you be the prettiest? I should be the most pretty out of all of us!' Cries one haughtily.  
One of them just looked at the rest, made a crafty smile and said, 'All of you can be pretty, be as pretty as you want! But I am the most **beautiful** here.'  
The fifth one eagerly puts in an answer as the other four bickers about which one is the prettiest and most beautiful, 'I think I'm more beautiful than all of you and my beauty is more than the beauty that any goddess possess!'_

Unfortunately, when the women were bickering about who was pretty and who was beautiful, a goddess was passing through that particular area of the sky and overheard the chatter and the claiming of beauty surpassing any goddess. The goddess got angry and appeared before the naive five women. Once the women saw the goddess, they were afraid and bowed before her. But it was too late. 

'Because of your self-centerness, I shall now put a spell on each of the you. Your first born babies will be born an animal. Only when someone accepts them for who they truly are and believe they are beautiful with their heart will they turn back to their human form.' 

The five women pleaded with the goddess, but the goddess will not remove the spell. She gave a whisk of her long sleeve and vanished into thin air. The remaining five women were scared of the spell, scared of what they might give birth to, scared of what their husbands and family think. But what could they do? So, they went home and told their husbands and family what happened and the spell that was placed upon their soon-to-be children. But there wasn't anything anyone could do, so they all waited for those fateful days when the five women would give birth to the five cursed children. 

The days came and passed when those five women gave birth. Even though when each of the child was being born, they were in their human form. But after each of their families were together with the babies for one single day, the children changed into their cursed animal form. Because the parents cannot accept having animals as children, they all agreed to not let anyone know they ever had the babies and decided to abandon the children in a nearby forest where the animals originally living there might take care of the babies for them. 

The goddess that placed the spell on the children saw what the parents had done and pitied the children. But she will not remove the spell because of her pride, so she made the animals in the forest care for the children, each child going to a foster animal family that the child has taking the form of..." 

At this time, Yuki decides to interupt Shigure's storytelling, "So, you're telling me that this little boar in front of me is a cousin of mine and her name is..." 

"Kagura, Souma Kagura," finishes Kagura. 

"I see... so that makes you one of my missing cousins. Who's the other four?" As Yuki finishes his sentence, new faces that he has met in the last couple of days flashed through his mind. "Wait... don't tell me..." 

"By the tone of your voice, does that mean you already met them?" Mused Shigure as he watched Yuki's expression change. 

"Kisa and Hiro..." started Yuki. 

"Yes, they're your youngest cousins." States Shigure. 

"Momiji..." continued Yuki. 

Shigure nodded his head. 

"...I don't know the last one..." hesitated Yuki. 

"Yes you do, Yuki. You just don't want to admit that he's your cousin as well!" Shigure smiles mischieviously. 

"It can't be... masaka... Kyo...?" Ventures Yuki regrettably. 

"That's the one, Souma Kyo. That kid is even your age, Yuki." Shigure was all smiles while Yuki could only moaned in disbelief. 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
"So why do you not go back to your families if you know about your past already?" Questions Yuki. 

"I told the others already, but we all decided that we won't return to our families until all of us have broken our spells." 

"Why?" 

"I don't know. I guess we just want to mock our parents and show them we don't need their acceptance and help to get back what was originally ours..." 

Yuki notices the sorrow that has seeped out onto Kagura's face. He was never the person that can comfort others so he decides not to ask anymore questions about Kagura's past. 

"So, tell me Kagura, were you the one hurting the woodsmen that came here?" 

"What woodsmen?" 

"The orange-haired woodsmen that came here. They all left here in bruises and injuries claiming that it was the work of a mad boar..." 

"Ohhhhh~ those woodsmen... Well, at first I thought they were Kyo because I saw their orange hair and so... I just got a little carried away..." explained Kagura a little embarrassedly. 

Yuki eyed her carefully and asked her, "So... all this time, you were not hurting anyone on purpose... You were just trying to find Kyo, am I right Kagura?" 

"Yes, that's right. I never meant to hurt anyone on purpose. ...It's all Kyo's fault for leaving me and not coming back..." 

Yuki furrows his eyebrows and goes into deep thought for a moment, trying to take all of this in. 

"Ok, Kagura, you still want to see Kyo, correct?" 

Kagura gave a frantic quick nod. 

"Alright, I need you to do something for me then. Come with me to the castle and help me explain that you didn't mean to hurt those woodsmen to the King and the Queen. Lets hope by doing so, my brother Ayame will be set free from imprisonment." 

"Why should I do that for you? I don't want to leave the forest and go into a castle where it's full of people..." 

"Because Kyo is inside the castle right now." 

"Ok, I'll come with you!" 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
"Is Shigure alright venturing into the forest alone?" Asks Yuki. 

"He'll be fine. Besides, the forest is not that big and he has been here for a couple of months already." Explains Kagura. 

_'She's right, I shouldn't worry too much about Shigure. I hope he finds Haru like he told us when we went our separate ways.'_ Thought Yuki and then he turns to Kagura and asks, "So, are you sure where Akito exactly is?" 

"Yea, of course, I saw them just yesterday but they didn't see me. And let me tell you, that Ritsu person, I think he'll have a breakdown if he keeps on panicking about everything." 

Yuki only smiled. _'Ha~ that's Ritsu alright, I wonder how Akito is doing with a person like Ritsu... Even though he dislikes me but he's still my cousin so I better go see if he's alright.'_

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
Yuki and Kagura arrived before a huge mansion nestled deep within the forest. 

Yuki puzzles, "what are we doing here? Is Akito here in this mansion?" 

"He was near this area yesterday night, and by the direction he was going I'm pretty sure he is going to stop to rest in this mansion. The owner comes to stay here every summer." 

Just as she finishes talking, they see a trio walking through a thick foliage into the clearing in front of the mansion. The two parties see each other and as Yuki's eyes meet Akito's, Yuki saw the change from surprise to something almost sinister cooking up in Akito's twisted mind. 

Even though, Yuki knew Akito is up to no good, he still courteously gives a little bow to Akito and addresses him. Akito, on the other hand, does not return the gesture but simply puts a smile on his lips and walks up to Yuki. 

"Yuki, my beloved cousin, I see that you have found the boar. But is that the real boar? Or is that just some simple-minded boar that you have found to act as a lie to the people?" Torts Akito. 

Yuki avoided the question and in turn says to Akito, "I'm glad you are doing alright, Akito san. I'll be going now." 

Beside Akito, the man called Hatori notices that something is wrong with his master and coldly suggests, "It's late now, lets all rest in the mansion for the night." 

Akito glances at Hatori and nods his head in approval. 

"Shall we, Yuki?" 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
Hatori waited until Akito was led away by the owner up to his room for the night with Ritsu close behind still blabbering his never-ending nonsense into Akito's already very much annoyed ears. 

"...I'm sorry Akito san, I couldn't be more hospitable. But this is not my house so I couldn't be more hospitable. Oh, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm sorry, Owner of this mansion, I didn't mean to intrude on your property. Am I being annoying? Do you find me annoying? I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!! GOMENNASAI!!! I'll appologize. I'll appologize to Akito san for not being able to find the boar for you. I'm sorry the boar is not in your hands. I'm sorry I couldn't help Yuki san to get the boar. I'm sorry... sorry.... sorry..." 

Then Hatori turned towards Yuki and Kagura, eyed them for a moment and simply said, "Do not stay for the night, Akito plans to kill the both of you." After saying that, he turns and follows the already disappearing Akito down into the hallway towards the bedrooms as if he was just talking about something as common as the weather. 

Yuki and Kagura could only look at each other wide-eyed. 

Later that night, Yuki and Kagura quietly and carefully slips into the dark blackness without waking anyone in the whole mansion. 

  
  
To be cont... 

  
  
**HK's little glossary of random jap words:**  
na = can be used as an equivalent to 'ne' for guys, girls usually do not use it masaka = could it be? 


	8. Happily ever after?

**HK's notes:** This is the final chapter of this story. I hope I didn't do too bad^^ On a warning note, this chappie might be a little confusing. =P   
It was fun writing this story, hope ppl liked it^^ 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Part. **Happily ever after?** ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
As dawn breaks onto the vast kingdom and awaken the slumbering people, Yuki and Kagura arrives in front of the palace. 

"Do I really have to go inside? Is Kyo really inside? I don't want to be surrounded by too much people you know." 

"Kagura, calm down. No one is going to hurt you while I'm with you, alright?" 

As Kagura settles down from Yuki's reassuring words, the huge gate leading to inside the palace opens and a soldier walks out to greet them. 

"Yuki kun, you've come back. What's that you have with you? Is that the boar?" 

"Yes, I would like to see the King and explain something to her." 

The soldier agreed to let both Yuki and Kagura inside the palace and told someone else to replace his spot beside the palace's gate. He led them through corridors after corridors and finally reached the great hall of the palace where the King usually sees to her subjects. 

King Uo and Queen Hana were already sitting in their thrones on top of an elevated stage. Yuki led Kagura up before the half-awaken King and Queen and kneeled down before them. 

"King Uo, Queen Hana, I have brought back the boar as you have commanded me to do." 

The King lifted her eyes lazily to glance at the boar and says, "Souma Yuki, are you sure that's the boar? It is but a puny little brown boar. How can it hurt anyone let alone strong woodsmen of my kingdom?" 

At this point, Kagura walked forward a little and spoke out loud, "I am the boar you wish to capture. I was the one that have hurt those woodsmen. I'm sorry. But I didn't mean to do that on purpose because I thought they were a friend of mine and I was only looking for my friend. Kyo, he left me, I really love him ...and I only wanted to have him back...!" 

King Uo turns her head and looks at Queen Hana. The Queen in turn nods her head and King Uo thought for a moment before she announces, "Very well, Souma Yuki, since you have finished the duty I has assigned to you, your brother Souma Ayame will be set free by our agreement. And you, boar, do not hurt anymore men in my kingdom or else next time I will surely punish you severely." 

With that said, the King and the Queen prepares to get up and eagerly go back to their royal beds. 

"Wait..." begins Yuki. 

But before he can continue with what he wanted to say, his words were stopped short when he saw who appeared into the hall. 

"Good morning Yuki kun." Comes the words from a beaming face of a very cheerful Princess Tohru. 

"Tohru san..." 

"**KYO!!!**" comes the scream of Kagura. 

Before anyone can realize what was happening, Kagura raced up to where Tohru is and snatched the already violently shaking ball of orange fur from her embrace. As it turns out, that ball of orange fur is actually Souma Kyo. 

"Oh Kyo, how can you ever do such a horrible thing as to leaving me? What's that? You say you didn't mean to? Oh, I know that you didn't do it on purpose because you love me so much, right Kyo? What's wrong Kyo? Why are you shaking? Are you cold? Or are you just too excited to see me? I know you're excited, I'm excited too. I'm very happy you're with me right now..." 

As Kagura was rambling away and squeezing the living daylights out of Kyo, Kyo in turn could only squeeze out a single 'Help me' every so often. But who would or could help him. It was all up to him to get himself out of this mess. 

As the other people were watching Kagura and Kyo, four more people came into the great hall and interrupted them. 

"I'm so sorry Akito san. I'm terribly sorry. It's all my fault that you didn't get a good night sleep. It's my fault. It's all my fault that Yuki got away with the boar. Gomennasai!! Are you having a headache? Oh no, I gave Akito san a headache again, I'm such a fool. I do not deserve to live. I'll apologize. I'll apologize to everyone. I'LL APPOLOGIZE TO THE WHOLE WORLD!!!" 

At that outburst, everyone turns their heads to look at the newcomers. 

"King Uo, Queen Hana, the other participant Souma Akito has also come back with his party." 

The King gave a little wave of her hand and dismissed the soldier that had led Akito's party into the great hall. Before she can tell Akito the current situation of the quest, Akito spoke up before King Uo can say anything. 

"Your majesty, I know I have failed the quest but I do not care anymore. I do not want any rewards, I do not want to marry the Princess, I do not want to be the future King. All I ask for, is to just get this person out of all of my senses' range. I do not wish to see him, hear him, or even be near him." After Akito said this, he pushed Ritsu forward a bit, turned around, and simply left with Hatori right behind him. 

"Oh no, how can I be such a burden? I have been a burden to Akito san all along. I cannot stay here. I cannot remain alive. I will go kill myself right this minute! NO, I'll go commit suicide after I have appologize to the entire world. I have to appologize. I'LL APPOLOGIZE! I'LL APPOLOGIZE TO EVERYONE HERE!!! **I'LL APPOLOGIZE TO THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!**" 

Just then, when Ritsu has made his biggest outburst yet, Shigure, Haru, and Momiji also appeared in the great hall. 

"Hi everyone, what's going on?" said Shigure cheerfully. 

Everyone gave a quick glance at Shigure but since they were too shocked by Kagura and Ritsu they couldn't say anything so they just went back to gawking at the frantic Ritsu. 

"Let me give you people some advice! Whenever Ritsu starts screaming, do not panic, don't be frantic, just simply poke him in the waist!" After explaining this, Shigure went up to Ritsu and simply poked Ritsu in the side of his waist. As if on cue, Ritsu stopped screaming and collapsed into a heap on the ground. 

"There, see, it wasn't so bad," smiled shigure satisfyingly. 

At this point, Yuki has finally recollected his senses and turns to face the King and the Queen, "Your majesty, I wish to ask for Princess Tohru's hand in marriage." 

After hearing this, King Uo and Queen Hana looked at Yuki dead in the eye and both of them said at the same time, "No." 

"I really love Princess Tohru. I haven't just met her today, I've known her ever since we were 10 year olds. I have the confidence that I will make her happy." Declares Yuki. 

King Uo and Queen Hana turns to look at Tohru and gives her a questioning look. Tohru could not say anything after hearing Yuki's proposal that all she could do is only blush and nod. 

"Very well, Tohru, tell me if you want to marry this Souma Yuki to be your husband." 

Tohru gave a quick glance at Yuki, lowers her head and nods again in consent. 

"Well, King Uo, if it's our Tohru's wish to marry Souma Yuki I think we should respect her descisions, what do you think?" 

King Uo was really hesitant, but even Queen Hana consented the marriage then she couldn't be selfish anymore and not let Tohru marry Yuki. So, she proclaimed, "Alright, I hereby proclaim Souma Yuki to marry Princess Tohru and to become the next future King." 

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
So, after the preparations were finished and everything was well and ready. Princess Tohru and Souma Yuki were married happily to each other with all of their early misunderstandings resolved. Everyone came and saw to their happy marriage and attended the ceremonies and parties. All of the Souma's came as well but with the exception of Souma Akito (since he was never welcomed by anyone and he never welcomes himself to any parties of any sort). 

As the priest finished his declarations and Yuki and Tohru has exchanged their vows, everyone cheered and happily joined into the celebrations. 

"Oh Kyo, look at how happy they are, why don't we get married as well? Wouldn't that be a splendid idea? Ne, Kyo?" 

As Kagura was staring at Yuki and Tohru starry-eyed, Kyo managed to slip away without alarming Kagura. He wandered around the place and looked at all the events that took place for the celebration. Eventually, he arrived at where the feast table was. Under it, he found a very familiar cat. 

Kyo padded up to the feline and said, "Hi, you seem familiar, have I seen you before?" 

As soon as the cat saw who was talking to her, she cried, "Kyo kun, it's really you!!! Oh, I've missed you so!!!" 

And before Kyo could realize what was happening to him, the cat was already over him and smoldering him with affection almost like Kagura. 

"Miss, do I even know you?" Kyo managed to voice his question. 

"Oh, right, my name is Sleeping Tiger, yoroshiku. We have indeed met before. I was with a bunch of my friends... and we kind of ambushed you..." the cat laughed a little embarrassedly. 

"Oh, no wonder you look familiar... Anyways, I'm going to get something to eat, want anything?" 

"Really? That's great! Ummm... but I'm not really hungry so can I get you to just get me a cookie please?" beamed the cat. 

After a quick nod, Kyo jumped on top of the table and grabbed a few things. He jumped back down and handed Sleeping Tiger the cookie that she has requested. 

But before Sleeping Tiger could voice her thanks, Kyo was already no where to be found. She wondered _'Where could he have gone to?'_

  
  


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

  
  
After Kyo has given the cookie to the cat called Sleeping Tiger he prepared to settle down and eat the things that he had grabbed. But before he could dig into the food, there was a flash of brown before his eyes and suddenly he was dropped onto a patch of grass away from the marriage celebrations. 

"Kyo," thunders Kagura with a darkened face, "...how could you? ...How could you betray me again? ...This time ...this time you will pay dearly for your betrayal...!" 

Under the gleaming eyes and darkened face of Kagura, Kyo could only manage a little squeak before he gave a huge scream. 

  
Poor Kyo, if only the celebrations weren't that loud, maybe someone would come to his rescue... or maybe not. ;) 

  
  
The End. 


End file.
